Chapter 18: A Fond Beach Memory

The beach awaited us in its wake. The bright as hell sun, the cool salt water, the hot and gritty sand… all of these aspects is what makes up a beach. I dressed into swim trunks, a shirt, and sandals, then went outside my room. Some of my friends waited for me. The girls didn't have a shirt on, just their bikinis. "Yo." Lemres greeted me. "Hey there, I can see that you're ready…" "Yep…" I heard grumbling nearby, it came from Schezo. "Do you EVER leave me alone?" He asked Arle, who was forcing him to come with us. "You need a time in the sun like the rest of us." She replied. "Wh-?! Arle! Have you forgotten WHO I am?! I am Schezo, the DARK mage! I don't go playing around in the sun. If you want to bring somebody with you, then take Rulue." Arle facepalmed at his words. "Schezo, she already agreed to be with us on her own terms. She likes the beach just as much as the rest of us, albeit, for different reasons. Anyway, girls will never like you if you don't have a decent tan…" "Arle, there's a reason why I hate going out in the sun, besides from being a dark mage… I like my skin color the way it is, plain and simple! So… stop making me go to these so called "fun" places! A dark mage requires no fun, and I want it to be that way." Schezo was the only person that was unwilling to come with us, and it was like dealing with a child that is refusing to leave out of their own home. "*sigh* That's why I know you as "Dork Mage"..." Feli commented. "Yeah…" Ringo agreed. "Hey! You are besmirching my honor, I don't take that lightly... So help me, I will fucking-!" Schezo stopped his own words. Lemres saw him pull out his sword and decided to do something about it. "Hold up! Dark Mage, come over here for a second. This'll surely make you come with us…" "*sigh* What is it, Comet Warlock?"

He then whispered into Schezo's ear. "*gasp* No, you wouldn't…!" "Oh I will if you don't come with us." "Okay! Okay! I'll come, happy now?!" "Yeah, very happy…" We stood there confused, not knowing what was spoken to him. "So let's go to the beach now, yeah?" Lemres asked us. Schezo dashed away afterwards. "Don't worry, he's just goin' there right now." He explained. "Oh… I see…" I trailed. I did not know what was going on with those two, I had to find out. "Hey guys, I'm here… it me a little bit to get my bikini ready, considering my big…" Draco says before I cut her off. "Okay, I think we get it, Draco… hehehe. I laughed awkwardly. "Ooooh… I was getting to the juicy part of it all...! why didja ruin it, Dave?" She pouted. "Look, we're in public." I told her. "Even still!" "No… at least wait until the beach to tell us the rest of that difficulty you had." I advised. "*sigh* Okay…" Klug meets up with us, as well as Amitie and Raffina. "Oh, it's Amitie!" Ringo smiled. "Hiya, Ringo! Wow… the color red really suits you." She told her. "Uh… thank you…?" She raised an eyebrow. "Amitie, how should I describe your suit, it looks… psychedelic…" I thought. "Psychedelic huh…? ...Hey! It makes me remember somebody that you haven't met before, Dave!" She realized. "R-really?" "Yeah! There's this guy named Oshare Bones, he's a skeleton. Don't worry though, he's not scary in the slightest, he's a shopkeeper back in Primp. Running a fashion store, he sells all sorts of clothing… and he's a bit of a critic in that instance." "I see…" I wondered for a second what kind of clothes he typical liked to wear, all before being snapped back into reality. "Dave, c'mon, we're going now!" Ringo grabbed my arm. "A-alright, Ringo…"

Before I could say anything else on my mind, we were on the beach's sand. "Ough… the sand's blister inducing… too hot…" I whined. "We will get used to it soon, Dave…" Klug said. "For our sakes... I hope you're right, Klug. At this rate, we'll be cooked like a goose." I used my hand as an umbrella to shield me eyes from the sun. "Ah, here's a good spot for us." Raffina said. Towels were laid on the sand and a huge umbrella became pitched in the center. "With that thing being the size that it is, it'll be difficult to get lost here." She explained. "Jesus, I've never seen one that big back in my world…" I stared. "D-Dave…" A voice called, behind me. "Hm? Oh, Lidelle! Aw… you look adorable in that…" "O-oh, you think so…?" "Sure I think so…" I was mesmerized by her cute swimsuit. "So… what are you going to do, Lidelle?" I asked her. "I-I'm planning on making sand castles with Big Sister." "Oh, with Draco? Say, are you two actually sisters? I'm just asking…" "N-no, I just look up to her. We may look similar, but we are not related." "Oh…" I was surprised that they weren't in the same family. "Hey, this is the first time that I'm seeing your arms and hands… they're usually blanketed by that green sweater of yours…" I noticed. "Yes, that's usually the case… I just love that sweater so much." She told me. Lidelle notices Draco lying down on her belly. "O-oh, Big Sister!" She ran toward her. "Huh? Oh hey there kid, didn't know that you would come here. What do ya want?" "I'll say it in her stead, Draco… she wants to build sand castles with you." "Is that so…? You have to do something for me first, Dave…" I raised an eyebrow. "Okay… what is it?" "Rub this suntan lotion on my body, there's a reason why I have untied my top…" "Wait… WHAT?!" I became flustered. "Kyah! Big Sister, what are you doing?!" Lidelle exclaimed.

I became uncomfortable, concerning the following scene that played out. "You're not seriously using this as an excuse for me to fondle your breasts, are you?" I questioned "Oh I'm very serious about this, c'mon hotstuff… pleasure me." Draco pressured me, smiling. "Uuuuuuuum…" I paused. Then I saw Feli nearby, lying down in the same position. "Dave, what about me? Don't let her have all the fun…" "Come on, not you too!" My face became as red as a brick from these two. I wasn't uncomfortable with the fact that I would see and feel their breasts, but rather… we were in the public's viewpoint. If any normal person sees what I'm doing with them, they would go ape-shit. These people would think that I'm a rapist. With that in mind, there was no way in hell that I was going to go along with this. I dashed toward the ocean to dive in and cool off. "HEY! Where the hell do you think you're going?! Come back here, Dave!" Draco yelled. "I'm so sorry, Draco! I really am, but I'm not going to be seen by other people while I do "that" for you!" *splash* I kept swimming straight ahead for a while, until I was barely able to see the beach behind me. "*pant pant* *sigh* That was nuts… At least I'm able to think clearly. I feel so bad though, I deserted Lidelle when she wanted to make sand castles with Draco. And… I dunno how Feli feels right now. Just when this day was going to be special, one thing fucks everything up… damn. The next thing I know, I swam like three miles to the point in the ocean. I can't believe this shit… huh?" I felt a weird change in the ocean, the water started to become rougher. Then, I saw a tidal wave coming in. "Uh oh, I better get back to the shore!" I started to swim as fast as my limbs could move, but the wave was catching up me quickly. "Shit! Aaaaaa-bububu!" I was swept up it and ended up underwater. Unable to find the strength to get back above, I slowly pass out from a lack of oxygen.

Lidelle's POV

I watched as Dave zipped into the water, and I didn't see him come back after forty-five minutes passed. "D-Dave…" I stuttered. "*sigh* I prolly shouldn't have done that… he's possibly far out in the ocean by now." Big Sister said. "Nevermind about that Draco, we need to find him." Arle said. "Yeah, I'm worried…" Ringo followed. "B-Big Sister, can you fly over the ocean to see if he is drifting?" I asked her. "Sure, I was gonna do that anyway." She responded as she flew. "How about the rest of us search for him on foot?" Lemres suggested. "*yawn* Finally, something worth my time, a little anyway." Schezo stretched. Suddenly, I heard a loud bark from a distance… a large dog was heading toward Feli. "B-Bal? What are you doing here?" She asked him. "*pant pant*... *bark*" Schezo stood there, not believing his eyes. "Wow, I wished that I had a dog like him." "Bal… hey, maybe you can help me, be a good boy and smell that." Feli tells the dog to sniff the footprints that were left behind by Dave. "*sniff* *continued sniffing* ?! *bark*" "Did you get the scent, Bal?" "*bark*" The dog proceeds to sprint. "For his size, he sure does get around." Schezo brought up. "Alright… yeah let's go guys… except for you Lidelle, you might get hurt, stay with Raffina." Lemres said. "O-okay…" I watched them run as they try and keep up with the dog. "It's alright, Lidelle... I'll keep you company. Tell you what... I'll build sand castles with you, since Draco couldn't." She told me. "Th-thank you, Raffina…" I smiled. We had a good time with one another. We talked and laughed, heck, I didn't even stutter when talking to her. I guess I was just that happy and carefree.

But then, trouble arose when I least expected it. Me and Raffina saw three strong looking guys standing next to us. "Wow those are some pretty dorky castles you got there, allow us to put 'em out of their misery...!" I flinched, as they destroyed both of our castles. I started to cry seeing the result of their stupid destruction. "*sniff* *sob* Wh-why would you do that...?" "Oh boo-hoo! Look here boys, the little girl's cryin'." The one guy showed off. Raffina then stepped in, appearing quite angry. "What the hell is you problem?! You had no business being around us and ruining our fun!" "Lass, I don't think you realize who we are... We're ruthless beach boys, we bring shitty days to unfortunate girls. We have fun by ruining the beach days for 'em." We couldn't believe it, these jerks do nothing but bully girls. "Your face looks so punch-worthy right now…" The one guy punched me hard and and I landed face-first in the sand. "Ow!" I yelped. "Grr… YOU..." Raffina's face became red and she fired her own punch at him. "Oof!" He staggered back a little. "You little bitch, you mangled my mug… Now you two are dead!" The one guy approached her. "Impossible, I barely dented him..." She trailed, frustrated. "Let's see how YOU fair against my punching. Rrrrrrrrr…!" "! Gyah!" My eyes widened as I saw this play out. "R-Raffina!" I started to run toward her, but something got my leg. "Ah!" "Oh no, we're not gonna let you get away…" "S-stop, please let me go… I-I never did anything to you!" I cried. "Doesn't matter, your friend did something that I hate the most… ruinin' my perfect mug."

Ex's POV

"Ah, this is the life… I haven't gotten to sunbathe on a beach like this in years… Hm?" I hear a scuffle off a little bit in the distance. "What is it, Captain?" Tee asked me. "Tee, I'll be back, something doesn't feel right to me…" "Okay, I'll stay here then." "Thanks, Tee." I went off into the direction of where I heard the scuffle. I saw it and couldn't believe it… Three guys bullying two girls, one small girl in particular. She had green hair, two horns, and large ears. She was being dragged away from who I assumed to be her friend… with the most miserable face that I've ever seen. My mind went blank for a moment, then I began to seethe with immeasurable rage. "That's it! I have to do something about this!" I ran over to one of the girls. "Hey, can you say something? What happened?" I asked. "Hey… you're that judge from the trial." The girl said. "Yes I am, but please explain everything to me…" I requested. This girl was named Raffina, as I found out. I learned that she and her friend Lidelle were minding their own business with making sand castles and having fun, until those guys showed. I also realized that these two girls were students of Accord's. She mentioned them to me a bit in the past. I wanted to stop the guys as soon as possible so I told Raffina to stay where she was. I promised her that I would protect Lidelle from these douchebags. "Hey, you three!" I yelled. "What now…? An old man?" "I'm not an old man you idiot, let go of the girl get out of here! This place has no need for ruffians like yourselves." "Ha, what makes you think that we'll listen to you?" You're weak compared to us." He was wrong, they had no power compared to me. "Alright... you asked for it, unforgivable pieces of shit! Rrrrrrraaaaaah!" I launched a powerful attack at them. "What the-?!" The guy, blissfully unaware, had let Lidelle go as he and the other two panicked. She took off running as those idiots didn't know what to do. They flew up high into the air and plummeted toward the ocean.

I brushed up my hands as a sign of mission accomplished. "Well, that takes care of them…" I finally ease up as I came up to the girl. "Are you and your friend okay, Lidelle?" "H-how do you know my name? … Wait… you're that judge, right?" "Yeah." "Wh-what's your name? I never caught it…" I paused briefly to breathe in. "My name is Ex, I happen to be an acquaintance of Ms. Accord." "O-oh really? Either way, thank you so much, Mr. Ex!" She went in to hug me tight. "Um, it's just Ex, but okay…" Even I wouldn't deny, this girl was just about as adorable as my daughter. "Ooooh…" Raffina groaned. "Oh! Raffina, I'm coming!" "Hey… are they gone?" "Yes my friend, Mr. Ex took care of them." "I already told you, Lidelle... it's just- oh nevermind…" The girl stumbled a little before getting up. "Okay… I'm fine now. So, Ex was it? I appreciate you coming in our time of need." Raffina smiled. "Don't mention it, I'm just a nice guy. If there's ever anything you two need help with, don't hesitate." I told them. "W-well about that…" "About what, Lidelle?" "Y-you see, it's about Dave…" I raised an eyebrow as I heard that being said. "Dave? What kind of trouble has he gotten himself into now?" I listened to the story that these two had to tell me. "... Well… I mean… I can't exactly blame Dave in this situation. I can see how awkward he must've felt. Man, I don't even know how to feel about all of this…" I said. "Well... Mr. Ex, do you think that you can help find him?" "I'll do it, he's my friend after all. You two have a safe time alright?" I waved. The two nodded and I turned around to go back to Tee.

"Tee, we now must do something urgent, fire up the Tetra!" I ordered him. "C-Captain?!" He jumped a little. "I'll explain later, I have to gather the rest of the crew." I came back into the Tetra and changed into my normal clothing. I proceeded to get Ai, Zed, Ess, O, Jay, and Elle ready. Tee joined soon after I did so. "So what is it that you want us to do, Captain?" He asked me. "We're looking for Dave, he went far out into the ocean here. No one knows whether he's okay or not. His friends are looking for him, but I feel like that it won't be enough. Hence why… I have gathered you all here today." I announced. "But Captain, it's an ocean. It might take ages to find him." Ai told me. "Normally yes, that would be the case, however… there's a special function on the Tetra that even you don't know about, Ai." "What? But that's impossible, I know this ship's design inside and out…" "Behold, this ship can modify itself into a submarine by pressing this cryptic button here." Ai was shocked at this. "That's funny, when was that made into the ship?" He wondered. "Before you were in the crew, Ai." I answered. "Hm… No wonder…" Tee drove the Tetra around the beach. "Where do you want me to go, Captain?" He asked me. "Slightly above the ocean's surface." "Okay." We soon reached it and I decided to press that button. "Here we go… Tetra... transform!" I pressed the button and ship transformed. In doing so, the Tetra lost the ability to float in the air.

In turn though, we were able to search underwater. "Well I'm sure this will be different then what you are used to… The last time that I used this function was when I was with my wife." I elaborated. "You have a wife?" Tee questioned. "Had, Tee. She's gone now…" I corrected him. "What do you mean? ... Captain?" He looked at me. I paused, feeling gloomy for a moment. "*sigh* Let me tell you all a quick story… It was long ago, me and her were out on a romantic trip… just the two of us. Then as fate would have it, disaster struck. The Tetra was under attack from an unknown enemy, and a hole was made right where she stood. She was being sucked into the empty void of space, hanging on for dear life… She called out for me and I grabbed her hand, but the force was too strong. Before I knew it, she slipped away and I never saw her again. Ever since that moment, I wasn't able to forgive myself for failing on my wife. I cried and lamented for days after, then that's when I decided to construct Zed. The rest of the story, you should know already…" Tee was standing there, not sure what to say. "I-I feel sorry for you then… You were in more emotional pain than I initially thought." Ess came into the conversation. "So is she dead then…?" Tee scratched the back of his head with a hand. I paused for a couple of seconds before saying anything more. "Most likely, but my heart wants to believe that she is still alive somehow…" I said. We all stayed silent for a while, not saying anything.

Draco's POV

I kept flying around for a while, trying to find my sweetheart… but I didn't see anything drifting on the ocean's surface. "Shit, what a pain in my ass… as well as my wings. Where can he be?" My wings began to feel wasted, however, I couldn't give up. I had to find him, if at all possible. In the distance, I see the others on the edge of the shore. "I see, so they haven't found him either." I found it to be frustrating; all I wanted was my boobs to be groped by Dave. "Ugh, that idiot… Ugh, who am I kidding? This is all my fault..."

Dave's POV

I regained consciousness, but realized that I was still deep in the ocean. "What's going on? I should be dead by now…" I said to myself. "! I can talk clearly underwater too… this is unusual." I hear a voice soon after, it was a girl's. "Oh you're awake, thank Poseidon for that!" "Hm? Wh-who are you?" I looked at the girl for a second, she had a tail instead of legs. "My name is Serilly, I saved you from drowning." "A-are you a mermaid? … And, what did you do to me?" "Yes I am one… I used some of my magic to make it so that you were able to breathe underwater for a couple of hours. So, you now tell me who you are…" She smiled. "Uh, I'm Dave, nice to meet you, Serilly." "Where did you come from, Dave?" "Well, it would be difficult without showing you first. Although, I might have gone through a great distance while I was passed out." "I see, so basically… you're lost." "Pretty much…" "Can you give me a location name? I might be able to get you back to civilization." I thought about it and decided to tell her. "Do you know of a group of islands called the Puyo Isles? The biggest island was where I drifted from." "I do actually, I can take you there. I know where to go, so you'll be back in no time." "Really?! Oh thank you, Serilly! I have friends that are probably worried about me at this moment." She grabbed my hand. "Hold in tight then, we have to hurry... otherwise that magic will wear off." "Alrighty then…" Serilly swam like how a jet flew in the sky. I was impressed with the speed, her body wasn't all that big. She was about the size of Ringo, maybe a little shorter in length. A few minutes later, we saw a huge and dark figure travel by. Upon closer looks, I figured out what it was. "The Tetra, what's that doing here?" "You know that thing?" "I do, and I think I've been rescued by some of my friends. Goodbye Serilly, it was nice meeting you after saving my life. Maybe we can see each other again…" "Yeah, for sure, Dave! Bye!" We waved to each other before I turned around and swam near the Tetra. A hatch opened up, and I entered inside.

I breathed in air for relief and shot out of the water. "Dave! I can't believe that we found each other out here." A voice ringed. It was Ex's, and I was delighted. "You were looking for me?" I pointed to myself. "Yes, with the entire crew as well. It took us a while, but we found you. I can see that you have made a new friend after you almost drowned…" He smiled. "Yeah… Oh hey Tee, I almost didn't see you there." "Dave, I am also glad that you're okay. You seem to be a magnet for trouble, especially recently…" "That's true." Ex tells me something that I wanted to hear. "Ess is taking us back to the island… Oh yeah, you might get a cold from that water if you don't warm up… here's a towel." "Thank you, Ex." "Don't mention it, you are my friend, in fact… you have been shaping up to be one of my closest…" I smiled at his words, he was seriously one of the kindest people I ever had the pleasure of meeting. I dried myself off and met up with the crew. "Hey, it's Dave!" Elle said, excited. "Oh great…" Ess scoffed. "*sigh* Are you STILL mad at me, Ess?" "Of course I am, you can be such a dick at times!" "I wasn't even looking at you at that time!" "You can say whatever you want, but it's not gonna change what I believe… Now, if you can excuse me, I need to bring this back ship to the island, all because of your stupid ass!" "I won't deny, what I did today was kind of stupid... but you can't possibly blame me for it!" "Tch." "Ess, come on…" "NO!" Ex then interrupted our bickering. "Enough! Ess, apologize to Dave." "But... Papa!" "But nothing, he is an honest guy… Besides, what has passed is past, forget about it." Ess looked a bit remorseful for her rudeness after Ex had his say. "*sigh* I'm sorry, Dave. Sometimes... I'm too much of a bitch for my own good." "There, see? That wasn't so hard now, was it?" He patted her head. "Captain, should it be time to turn this back into the starship that we know it as?" Tee asked him. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot… Tetra, transform!" Just like that we floated out from the water, and into the air.

Feli's POV

We had no luck with finding Dave, even with Bal by our side. "Ugh, I'm tired…" I whined. "Yeah, I give up." Lemres agreed. "Hm? What is this energy I feel? ! It's Dave! I know that it's him!" Schezo stated. "Really?!" Arle questioned in shock. "Where's that energy going, Dork Mage?" "It's DARK Mage, you idiotic-! A-anyway, it's heading back to the spot that we claimed on the beach." He told us. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get back there then… hm? Hold on, where's Draco?" Ringo asked. "I see her guys, up there. Hey Draco, this guy thinks he knows where Dave is!" I called for her. "Oh really? Finally… my wings were exhausted…" She slowly floats down to the ground. We ran all the way back to our spot as we saw a ship nearby. Then, I saw him, my love… Dave.

Dave's POV

"Hm? Oh guys! I'm okay, thanks to Ex. Why's there a dog here now?" "Oh Dave, this dog here is mine, his name is Baldanders, but I just call him Bal." Feli elaborated. "Well then, hi there Baldanders…" I patted his head, and in turn, he nudged it to me. "Aw… I think he likes me…" Baldanders proceeds to bark friendly at me. "D-Dave…" Lidelle mumbled. "Lidelle… wait… Why are you bruised up?" "I'll explain it to you, Dave…" Ex stepped toward me. "Ex? What happened here before you came and found me?" I found out that these guys were bullying her and Raffina, just because they wanted to. "Thankfully, I gave them penance for their actions." He assured me. "Good thing you came to the rescue… I have to thank you again." I said. "Hey, when there's trouble, I snuff out its flame." He said. "Dave… I'm sorry about earlier, I should've taken into account other people around us…" Draco apologized. "It's okay, Draco… really, it is. I forgive you." "Me too, Dave?" "Yes, you too, Feli…" I hugged both of them. "Hey, we still have time, how about we play in the water?" Ringo asked us. "Sure, Ringo…" I responded. The other girls nodded their heads, as well as Lemres. "Well, have fun then guys, I'll be taking off now. Ex told us. We jumped in, except for Lidelle. "What's wrong?" I asked her. "W-well, I was never taught how to swim…" "Huh… okay then… how about this then?" For that time, I tried teaching her. I would say that I sucked at it, but she was a fast learner. "Wow, I didn't expect you to get this good so quickly! Good job, Lidelle!" "Th-thank you, Dave…" And so, we joined up with the rest to have a time of our lives that we would never forget.

The sun began to set as we came back to the shore. "Oh my God, that was so much fun!" Amitie expressed. "You seem to be enjoying yourselves just fine…" Schezo frowned. "Come on man, lighten up at least a little." I said. "Dave, just leave him alone, he's a party pooper." Arle told me. I shrugged and looked back at the sunset. "It's beautiful…" I smiled. "Dave, how about we all take a picture under this view." "Absolutely Ringo, I would like that…" "Okay then, I'll get my phone." She comes back a minute later with it. "Okay, so who wants to be in the photo?" She asked. I raised my hand, Baldanders made his own paw gesture, and everyone else raised their hand as well, except for Schezo, who seemed to not care. "Well then, looks like you'll have to take it since you seem to be camera-shy." "No I'm not! I just don't want to be in it… *sigh* Alright, I'll take it, everyone... get into position… Um… how does this thing work?" He wondered. "Just press the very middle button when you are ready." "Oh… okay. Lining up… On a count of three guys, one… two… three." We saw a flash from Ringo's phone. "Thank you, now let's see how it turned out…" Schezo hands Ringo back her phone. "This is great, look guys!" The photo turned out better than we hoped. "This is proof that we are all friends…" I said. "Yep, best friends forever!" Amitie hollered, overjoyed. With an abundant amount of smiles filling our group up, we left the beach.

Author's Notes: Dave and his friends enjoy their day at the beach, despite inconveniences. The group spends the last night of the trip, relaxing in the comfort of their rooms. Just to let you, the readers know ahead of time as a warning... the next chapter will be quite short, but graphic. Next chapter, Chapter 19: Final Night.